Position: Head Coach / Offensive Coordinator / QB Coach / Director of Recruiting
Alma Mater: The Ohio State University, 2015
Bio: James Grega, Jr. was named the Head Coach of the Ohio State Club Football team just before the start of the 2018 campaign and helped lead the Buckeyes to one of the best seasons in program history. The Buckeyes finished with an undefeated regular season, winning the team’s first division title and first appearance in the National Club Football Association (NCFA) playoffs.
In five seasons as Head Coach, Grega has compiled a 37-6 overall record, winning two national championships, four conference titles and qualifying for the NCFA postseason each year. He also navigated the program through the canceled 2020 season, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Grega’s 2019 team opened the year by defeating the No. 1-ranked Oakland Grizzlies, and two weeks later, the Buckeyes earned their first No. 1 ranking in the NCFA polls in team history. Also serving as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, Ohio State averaged 36.8 points per game in 2019, as the Buckeyes finished with a perfect 9-0 record and a national championship. Grega was named the NCFA’s Coach of the Year following the 2019 championship season, the youngest to ever win the award (27).
Despite not playing in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Grega and his staff were not only able to keep the program thriving, but repeated as national champions in 2021, rattling off seven straight wins to finish with a 7-2 record and a win over George Mason in the national title game. Ohio State went 17-3 in 2022 and 2023 combined, averaging 45 points per game and reaching the national title game both seasons, losing only in the title games and to Wittenberg University.
Of Ohio State’s 92 NCFA All-Americans, 74 have come during Grega’s tenure as head coach. In addition, quarterbacks Kellyn Gerenstein and Spencer Moore have accounted for three of the last four NCFA Offensive MVP awards with Gerenstein winning in 2019 and 2022 and Moore winning in 2023.
Prior to Grega’s tenure as head coach, Ohio State posted a 26-20 overall mark after joining the NCFA in 2012, never qualifying for the postseason. Since Grega took over in 2018, the Buckeyes have not lost a regular season game against an NCFA opponent and are 9-3 in postseason games, qualifying for the NCFA National Championship Game in four out of five seasons. Overall, Ohio State is 34-3 against NCFA opponents under Grega, with three of his six losses as head coach coming to NCAA Div. III JV opponents (Mount Union, Denison, Wittenberg). He became the program’s winningest head coach in 2021 following a 57-7 win over Wright State in the regular season finale.
Prior to being named head coach, he served as offensive coordinator of the team in both 2017 and 2015 while also coaching quarterbacks. In 2016, he was the quarterbacks coach at Westerville South (Ohio) High School.
He was a two-year member of the program as a player, joining midway through the 2012 season and starting the entire 2013 season at quarterback for the Buckeyes, where he led the Great Lakes East conference in touchdown passes. He helped lead the team to six wins, tying a then-program record.
He was a three-year letterman at Brunswick (Ohio) High School and started nine games during his senior season (2010-11) at quarterback for the Blue Devils.
In addition to his duties as head coach, Grega works in the marketing and communications office at The Ohio State University College of Arts and Sciences as a Senior Content Specialist. He graduated from Ohio State in 2015 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism.
Coaching Experience
Ohio State Club Football – Head Coach|2018-present
Ohio State Club Football – Offensive Coordinator, QB Coach|2015, 2017
Westerville South High School – QB Coach|2016
Buckeye High School – Summer Volunteer Assistant|2013, 2014
Holy Name High School – Summer Volunteer Assistant|2011, 2012
Ohio State Club Football 